The present embodiments relate to plaque vulnerability assessment. One of the main goals for plaque analysis is to identify and characterize the vulnerability of a particular plaque to rupture. For plaques in critical vessels, such as the coronaries and cerebral arteries, the event of plaque rupture could be life threatening, leading to a heart attack (myocardial infarction) or stroke.
Multiple medical imaging modalities, such as computed tomography (CT), x-ray angiography (XA), optical coherence tomography (OCT), ultrasound (US), intra-vascular ultrasound (IVUS), and near-infra red spectroscopy (NIRS), have been used to analyze plaque in blood vessels. However, the ability to accurately predict plaque rupture may vary. Human prediction from the medical imaging may be subjective or vary depending on the person predicting.